


It's a match!

by reveetoile



Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Soulmates, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-12
Updated: 2020-12-18
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:34:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 11,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26971471
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/reveetoile/pseuds/reveetoile
Summary: Nino looks for a present for his mother, and Aiba proposes to him to bake a cake. Nino has no idea how to bake though so Aiba shows him a few youtube channels that specialise on baking and Nino finds more than the recipes interesting.
Relationships: Ninomiya Kazunari/Ohno Satoshi
Comments: 36
Kudos: 28





	1. Chapter 1

“What are you doing?” Nino asked Aiba as he entered their shared apartment. 

“Videos,” Aiba said with a grin as he watched Nino drop his bag down on the floor before falling head first onto the sofa. “Hard day?”

“I want to punch people,” Nino groaned as he turned his head deeper into the cushions. 

“Try not to suffocate yourself,” Aiba said as he moved closer to Nino to pat his head. “I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

“I got yelled at because a customer made a mistake. When I wasn’t sorry enough for their liking, they demanded to see the boss.”

“There, there,” Aiba whispered as he patted his head in a comforting manner. “At least you are home now. And you can relax.”

“I’m hungry. And I don’t want to move. The kitchen is too far!”

Aiba rolled his eyes, but it was all with a soft smile on his face. He was hard to get angry at him, so Nino didn’t worry too much. Aiba liked taking care of his friends, and he never got mad at him at least as long as he knew that Nino’s crankiness had his reasons. 

Aiba ruffled his hair and made him move so that he could stand up and go to the kitchen. Nino listened silently as he moved around, feeling slightly bad for making Aiba do that for him. 

A few minutes later, Aiba was back, nudging Nino to make space for him again. Nino lifted his head and turned around as Aiba sat down beside him again. He handed over a plate of sandwiches for Nino to munch on, as he turned on the TV. 

“Let’s get your mind off that awful day then.” 

“What are we watching?”

“YouTube videos,” Aiba said happily as he played with some strands of his hair when Nino settled down against him again. Nino felt himself loosen up slowly under the ministrations, making Aiba smile over him as his eyes were still glued on the TV set. 

“Aiba-chan?”

“Yes?”

“My mom’s birthday is two weeks away…” Nino mumbled with a frown. 

“I know. It’s every year.”

Nino giggled as he rolled his eyes, but then he tugged at the sleeve of Aiba to get his attention.

“What’s up?”

“I don’t know what to get her,” he said with a frown. “I don’t have money.”

“Why? You worked so much after all. You should have tons of money.”

Nino groaned as he hid his face behind his hands. “Most of the money will go to my tuition fees.”

“I’m sure your mom would understand your problems and help you out…”

“Don’t you dare to tell her,” Nino said, glaring up at him. “Mom will feel awful. She will try to give me the needed money, but she already struggles as it is.”

Aiba’s brow furrowed but he decided not to say anything. He knew that it would only end in an argument, and it didn’t matter.

“You know what my mom likes the most?” he said after a while of silence as he thought about what Nino could make his mother.

“What mushy thing would that be?” Nino asked with a small grin. 

“You know she’s not me,” Aiba said with a pout, but he was chuckling when that made Nino laugh out loud. He was glad to have made Nino forget about his bad mood for a bit at least. 

“So, what is it?”

“She likes things that we make for her the most. That has a deeper meaning.”

“Aiba I’m not going to make crafts or something. I’m not good at it, and my mom would not hang it up somewhere.”

“Stupid. Cook something or bake something for her? She will appreciate it, and you can have some time one on one together or with the family of your sister. You haven’t seen them in a while. She will love having you there for a whole day.”

“My mom loves to cook, you know? If we go over and spend time with her she wants to cook for us,” Nino said, yelling when Aiba pinched his nose. “Oy!”

“Then bake a cake or something. You with your excuses,” Aiba said with a chuckle. 

“I can’t bake.”

“Then you can learn it. Come on. It’ll be fun, and I sponsor the ingredients for the trials if I get to eat them. Sho will be happy as well to help you out.”

“It’s only two weeks until then,” Nino said in a small voice, not wholly on board but Aiba could see he was already contemplating it. 

“Not up for the challenge? Scared that you would fail?” Nino glared at him for a moment. 

“Okay, I’ll do it. I never fail!”

Aiba grinned victoriously as he searched for a channel about cakes and started a new video. 

—

“That’s not a cake, Aiba,” Nino mumbled as Aiba stopped at a video. 

Aiba pinched his nose at the words before shushing him. “It’s a good channel. We can look for cake recipes afterwards! This is a new video. I have watched all videos of this person so far.”

“Stupid,” Nino muttered but settled back down when Aiba caressed his side with his fingertips to calm him down again. Awful that the older always knew what to do to relax him and let him do whatever he wanted. His eyes settled on the TV where a very handsome man appeared, and Nino wasn’t sure if that was the reason that Aiba enjoyed that particular channel. It could be. 

“Oh, how cute!” Aiba cooed as the man played around with some balloons. He had already a balloon dog beside him. 

“Hello and welcome to my channel! Today I wanted to try something new. All people love those balloon animals, right? Aren’t they just cute?” The man moved the dog with a grin on his face before putting it aside again and taking the deflated balloons between his fingers again to play with them. It seemed to be a tick of him to always play with something, Nino observed. 

“So for today, I want to try to make one from chocolate. Let’s see if it works!”

“Stupid, of course, it works. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have uploaded the video,” Nino grumbled. “You could see the chocolate one right at the beginning! He needs to learn a thing or two about suspense.”

“Hush you, not everybody can be a film major,” Aiba snorted. “And besides. It’s a cooking and baking channel. There is no need for suspense. Jun-san likes those intros.”

Nino rolled his eyes but then looked back at the video. He observed the concentrated frown on the face of the man and sighed. He was really handsome.

He nibbled at his lips as he saw the other licking his lips, before flinching when the balloon where Jun had poured the hot chocolate in, exploded and the chocolate landed on his face, hair and hands. 

“That didn’t work,” Jun said, sounding dumbfounded as he blinked in confusion and licked the bit of chocolate away from his lips. “Tastes good though,” he said with a chuckle. 

Nino giggled at the antics when there was a grimace on the face of the other as he touched the camera and realised that everything was a mess now. Nino laughed harder when the other decided that cleaning up would probably be better for now and there was a cut in the video before he appeared again. His counter was clean, he had changed clothes, but there was still a bit of chocolate stuck to his ear that he probably missed while cleaning up. 

Aiba laughed above him as he explained to Nino how he had learnt what to look for if you want to make chocolate decorations from the channel and how to make the most beautiful cakes and that there was definitely a recipe that his mother would like. 

After the newest video Aiba put on another video with a more manageable recipe (at least that was what he explained) and Nino watched the man on the video appear again. 

— 

“Hello and welcome to my channel! My name is Matsumoto Jun, and I’m happy that you are here again. Today we will make a three-layered chocolate mousse cake with raspberry filling!”

“Oh, that looks wonderful! Your mom would love that.”

“That looks awfully complicated,” Nino mumbled, but he had to agree that the cake looked delicious and that his mother would be impressed if he brought one of those for her party. That didn’t mean that he would be able to make it, though. 

Nino stared intently at Jun as he told his viewers the directions about how to make the batter and the cream as well as the fruit filling and decorations. It looked complicated, and Nino felt a knot in his stomach at the thought of doing one like that. It also looks like it would take awfully long. 

At least Jun had changed clothes around three times, which told Nino that this took at least as many days to make that kind of cake. He had no time to try this and do another one until the date of the birthday party. 

“True… Pity, I would have loved to try this one,” Aiba mumbled. 

“But I’m sure we will find something else from this channel.” Aiba’s voice was soothing, but Nino didn’t listen to his words since another man stepped into the picture, or more likely a very well-toned upper body stepped into the picture. Nino felt his mouth going dry as his eyes wandered over the abs, listening idly to the scolding tone in Jun’s voice as he shoved the other man away who chuckled lowly (the chuckle sounding heavenly in Nino’s ears and sent shivers down his neck) as he quickly stepped out of the way of the punishing hands doing a small, but very elegant, swirl as he did so.

Nino choked on nothing as his eyes zeroed onto a small navy mark that was peeking out from under his waistband. The spikes and colours were looking suspiciously like the ones adorning his body since puberty.

“Nino is everything okay?” Aiba asked, worry in his voice as he rubbed his back as he coughed. 

“Yes, I… everything is alright,” he mumbled, clearing his throat as his fingertips touched his mark hidden by his clothes. He then sighed and shook his head. He was sure it was all in his imagination but… But… 

“Hey, Aiba-chan?”

“Yes, what’s wrong?”

“Who is that other guy? Does he bake as well?”

“Ah no, but he is the taste tester for Jun-san,” Aiba said with a giggle. “I think they live together. Why?”

“Because it’s strange to have a half-naked man in your videos. Very unprofessional,” Nino snorted. “God, do you have any other channels? His voice grates on my nerves.”

“Yes, yes, spoilsport. Let me check.”

Nino settled down again as Aiba started another baking channel. This one offered seemingly more uncomplicated recipes. But there were no exciting housemates, and soon enough Nino had fallen asleep. He felt all better now that he was fed, warm and comfortable. He had Aiba to cuddle with and the calm voice of the woman of the baking channel. Jun had sounded a lot more excited as he had explained all about his cake.


	2. Chapter 2

Nino sat on his bed, the door was safely shut, and he carefully pulled his blanket up a bit further as he rewound the video. It was hard to get a clear shot of the mark since the other man turned just too fast and he had tried to hit the pause button already a few times but was either too late or too early. 

“Finally,” he groaned when he managed and rubbed his slightly itchy eyes. He stared at the bit of the mark he could see in silence for a while longer, deciding that it had to be the same, and if not, it was eerily similar to his mark. 

A small shudder ran over his back as he had never even thought that he would meet the person that was his opposite self. And he clearly didn’t know what he should do now. 

Nino’s eyes wandered over the body again, he had known that he was always more interested in men than women (even if he had experiences with both), and this man had a very sexy upper body. Not too muscular but also lovely to look at. 

He sighed after a moment and closed his laptop as he rolled onto his side on the bed, closing his eyes. 

“It doesn’t matter,” he mumbled and rubbed his nose against the soft cloth of his cushion. He smiled and stretched out slightly. But it also wouldn’t hurt to watch more of those videos. At least the man seemed to be knowledgeable about baking, and if he wanted to impress his mother, he would need all knowledge he could get. 

—

“I know that many people complain that they don’t get the perfect sponge cake roll. They are normally unhappy since the cake is too hard, dry or not fully baked through so today I will give you the tips for the perfect sponge cake that I use and that always works. For comparison, I will make the sponge cake with the usual mistakes people do as well, and I will show you the differences.”

“First make sure that all ingredients have room temperature. It’s essential that all ingredients have the same temperature so that they can mix smoothly. Make also sure that you weigh out all ingredients before you start making the batter because the cake needs to get into the oven soon after you have mixed it or it will go flat. And even if you want to make a cake roll and think a flat cake is good then, trust me when I tell you it isn’t.”

“Because I prefer my cake to be extra fluffy, I normally separate the egg whites and yolks and whip them separately. I would recommend you to do the same. So let’s do this!”

“As you can see, the egg yolks are really yellow and thicker now. That’s what you want to achieve and don’t worry if it takes you a few minutes. That’s normal. Keep in mind that your egg whites should only have the soft peek for this recipe. Otherwise, it won’t mix well with the other ingredients, and the cake will taste a bit like eggs. Really not a good taste. So now all that’s left is carefully folding in the flour. Don’t over mix it now and off it goes to the oven.”

“Here, I am again. As you can see, the cakes are perfect. Here I have just the sponge cake, but because that is boring, I also prepared a strawberry and cream sponge cake roll. It’s fresh and delicious on warm days. You can find the recipe for that cake down below in the info-box. Now let’s go to the taste test!”

Nino groaned and stopped the video for a moment. He rubbed his forehead and frowned as he remembered the sorry excuse for a roll cake he had done the other day. The cake had been broken in places and looked as if it had fallen at least three times. And there had been white spots throughout that didn't taste very good. In no way he would be able to serve that to his mother. 

Why did those tips now sound so logical? Damn it! This Jun seemed to have an idea as to what he was talking about. Nino grumbled softly and with a sigh, clicked at the link in the information box to look at the role the other made after he finished this video. He only clicked on that one because it had taste testing sponge cakes in the title and Nino had hoped to see the mysterious guy again. 

It was hard for him to admit that the information actually had helped. Luckily he didn’t have to tell this annoying Jun!

He took another deep breath and enlarged the video before clicking on play again. He felt butterflies in his stomach as he saw long, graceful fingers in the frame. They lied on a dark table and twitched lightly as the body moved slightly to a melody that wasn’t there. 

Nino’s eyes focused on the fingers, and he licked his lips slightly as he memorised how there was a splotch of yellow on one of his nails. Maybe leftover paint? So the mysterious guy painted as well? Nino could tell that he danced or something like that. His movements were very graceful after all, and his body was trained. So he didn’t just sit around at home as Nino did. 

Sadly Jun never put the face of the other in the frame. Not entirely at least. Sometimes Nino could catch a glimpse of a dimple on one side when the other laughed, and there was a cute snuggle tooth he had seen once in an older video. It seemed to have been removed now sadly. 

There was also a small scar on his face, and his lips looked beautiful. Nino had caught himself twice or trice stopping the video and tracing the lips. And slowly but surely Nino felt like a creepy stalker. 

The man laughed, and Nino felt goosebumps on his arms. The voice of the other was like molten chocolate to his ears and he really really would love to see more of him. At the same time, Nino thought it was good that he had no idea who it was. He was scared about what he would do otherwise. 

The man took the dry sponge cake first, chewing them and frowned when he realised it was dry and not acceptable. Nino giggled when a whine escaped his lips and hid his face behind his hands. 

God, he was behaving like a schoolgirl. Get yourself together, Nino!

He started the rest of the video, now really laughing when Ohno took the roll cake a lot more excited as he put a bite on his fork and led it to his mouth to taste it. He inhaled just as he put it into his mouth and choked on the powdered sugar that Jun had put on top of it. 

“God, you are so bad with this!” Jun laughed, and Nino felt jealousy flare up in him for just a second as Jun’s hand wandered to his roommate's back and rubbed it until the coughs subside. 

“Sorry, but it’s good. I love this! It’s honestly my favourite,” he said with a happy smile. Before Nino realised what he was doing, he closed the video and opened the information for the other video he had already put in the new tab. He scribbled down all ingredients and jumped to his feet. 

“Aiba-shi! I will try another roll cake for my mom’s birthday. I’ll take the money for it from our flat budget, right?”

“Wait! I’ll come with you. We can go grocery shopping as we are at it.”

Nino grumbled but nodded as he hopped from foot to foot. He would make this cake and make it perfect even if it killed him!

—

Nino poked the cake in front of him with a frown. The sponge cake was good. It was bouncy, almost melting in your mouth and didn’t break, so that was a plus. 

Damn it, Jun!

But the cream somehow didn’t work. It was too liquidly and too buttery on other parts and somehow just not right. 

“Well, it’s progress from your last cake. And the strawberries were good,” Aiba said and patted his head when he saw how down Nino looked. 

“I have to study more,” Nino mumbled. He frowned as he was sure that there had been a video where Jun explained how to make the perfect fillings for cakes and where differences lied. That could help. Hopefully. He needed to get this right. 

“You are getting quite a maniac about this,” Aiba said slowly. 

Nino blinked and opened his mouth for a moment, stopping before he blurted out his real thoughts. 

“Well, it’s for mom. It has to be perfect,” he answered lamely in the end. “I don’t want to disappoint her that she only gets a cake and then it’s not even perfect.”

“Nino…” Aiba said, and Nino glared at him. “You know that she will be happy with whatever. But I will support you,” Aiba cheered and Nino grinned shyly. 

“Thank you,” he mumbled, only slightly feeling bad that he was lying about his true intents. But that was okay. There was no way that Aiba would be able to help him achieve that goal after all.


	3. Chapter 3

“So I would recommend making a mix of whipped cream and yoghurt for summer cake filling. Ganache has its merits for chocolate creams though, but they might be a bit heavy. If you add spices, it’s perfect for winter though, in my opinion at least. If you want to add fruits, try to mix in some lemon or lime juice, it is very refreshing. I hope this information could be helpful and leave a comment if you try any filling out and which you liked best.”

“My favourite is chocolate!” Jun’s flatmate piqued in, and Jun rolled his eyes in annoyance even if a smile played around his lips. 

“Yeah, because you love anything as long as it has chocolate.”

“Chocolate is the best, after all.”

“That’s all then. Until next time,” Jun said and waved cutely at the camera. 

Nino giggled when the flatmate waved as well, and the last shot was a peace sign made by him. 

—

“Your mom will be delighted with this cake. It tastes great,” Aiba said with a smile as he finished his piece of cake. “The chocolate on top fits with the strawberries.”

“Good,” Nino breathed and grinned slightly as he ate his piece of cake. It was good, not too sweet or bland, and the chocolate drizzle he had put on top of the cake gave it a little bit of crunch. “Mom likes chocolate, but I thought fruit would be more refreshing.”

“And not as sweet so that you can enjoy the cake as well,” Aiba teased. 

“And that,” Nino agreed and stuck out his tongue. “You’re awful.”

“I love you too. You do realise that you will have to pay for the ingredients for the birthday cake, right?”

“Yes, yes. I won’t make you pay for that one.”

“Are you nervous?”

Nino shrugged. He was, of course, nervous that something would go wrong when he made the cake for his mother, but he would follow the recipe he had together with the notes he had taken from Jun’s videos. And if it didn’t work… Well, there was nothing he could do then. But he was pretty optimistic that he would do well. He was not stupid, after all. 

“Do you want to come for her birthday? I’m sure mom wouldn’t mind.”

Aiba hummed but then shook his head with a chuckle. “Nah, I’ll have Sho-chan come over for a home date,” he sang. “I need to use the time when you are not home for once.”

Nino shoved him to the side and grimaced. “Don’t do anything disgusting when I’m gone.”

“You’re just jealous because you have not such a great, perfect boyfriend like my Sho-chan.”

“I’m pretty happy not to have him as a boyfriend. His schedule making is crazy. And I can’t understand how he can stand you, and you can stand him.”

Aiba grinned wider and put his chin on his hands as he stared straight ahead with a pleased sigh. “I sometimes either delete or hide his schedules. It’s fun. He is all flustered for a while, but he forgets soon when I start to distract him. He is fun if you distract him. And he knows a lot. It’s fun to go on trips with him.”

“Nice a tour-guide,” Nino said and rolled his eyes before he laughed when Aiba shoved him slightly and tried to throw him to the floor but didn’t manage. 

“At least I’m not as unlucky as you and all my crushes are straight.”

“They are not all straight. Hell, you are talking as if I never have dates or relationships.”

“It has been a while.”

Nino shrugged uncomfortably. “I was busy with work and studying, so there was no time for me to fall for someone. It’s getting more relaxed soon so it should be better then,” he mumbled and tried hard not to blush when beautiful, tanned abs came to his mind at those words. 

True it had been a while since he had been with someone. Maybe that was why he was so fixated on that flatmate of Jun. He should find someone for a one-night stand, but…

Nino wrinkled his nose at the thought of that. It was just not for him to have one-night stands. It was not fulfilling for him, which was a pain sometimes. Many men he was interested in, were not necessarily straight but more interested in just having fun than a relationship. But to Nino, sex was only then fulfilling if he was able to let himself fall entirely. 

He groaned at his thought and realised that he felt down now. He pushed Aiba again and grumbled. “You can clean up I am in my room,” he declared and ignored Aiba’s sputtering in confusion. He knew it was unfair, but he couldn’t help being angry somehow. 

He sat down on his desk and tried to concentrate on the essay he had to finish until the end of the month. He would like to watch another video, but there was no need, and even Nino was smart enough to realise that it was dangerous infatuation right now. God, his life was a mess!

—

“Congratulations, mom!” Nino yelled when he entered his family home. 

He grinned when he kissed his mother’s cheek and presented her with the cake box. 

“I made your present myself,” he declared. “And I brought you a flowerpot as well.”

“Thank you, sweetheart. It looks great,” she said as she looked at the roll cake for a second and then smiled down at the yellow miniature rose Nino had brought her. Nino knew that his mother didn’t like welting flowers, so a flowerpot sounded like a good idea. So he was extra happy that he was right when he saw her delighted look. 

He followed his mother inside to greet his sister and the rest of her family and then sat down at the family table for a great afternoon full of laughter and talks about their private life and what they had done the last days until his nephew was bored. Nino offered to take him together with his old dog to the park so that he could play on the playground, and Nino was looking forward to spending time with his dog.

“Shota, do you want to go with your uncle outside or stay inside with us?” his sister asked and knelt in front of her son. 

Shota stared at her for a second and then pointed at Nino. 

“Okay, listen to your uncle, right?”

“Uncle Kazu, listen,” Shota repeated, and Nino smiled a second. 

“We’ll be fine, nee-san,” he promised. “We’ll come back in time for dinner. So you can take a break.”

“Right,” she nodded, and Nino moved towards his nephew.

“We go out to the park with the big spider. And we’ll take Haru. So get ready.”

“Go big spider. Goodbye,” Shota agreed and waved to the rest of the adults as he turned around to get his shoes and jacket. Nino grinned and jumped to his feet. He should probably be fast; otherwise, it could happen that Shota would just leave ahead. He whistled for Haru who came obediently and slipped into his shoes as he put the leash on the dog. 

“Shota, hand or leash?” Nino asked, offering him his hand while also swinging the leash as they were outside. Shota looked from one thing to the other and in the end, grabbed the lead in the middle. 

Nino nodded and off they went to the park. He was glad that Haru was already used to be slower whenever they were out with Shota and knew how to bring himself in between the boy and dangerous situations if needed. 

“Good boy,” Nino praised the dog as they were at the playground, and the dog lied down on the paved ground away from the sand and playground equipment. 

“Good boy, thank you,” Shota parroted and then walked off to let the sand ran through his hands and fingers. Nino sighed and settled down on the bench close to Haru as they both watched Shota play alone. Only when the boy finally decided to go to the climbing frame did Nino stand up and follow to make sure that Shota would not panic. He was glad that today was a calm day, and there were not many people around so that there was not much to stress Shota, which was nice. 

Nino made sure to keep an eye on Haru, Shota and the time. It took a while until Shota was ready to climb back down, wobbling only slightly, but allowed Nino to help him, before running off. 

Nino groaned and ran over to stand in front of Shota and motioned him to stop. Shota came to a standstill moving his weight from one foot to the other and swayed slightly as he tried to look over Nino’s shoulder. 

“Please slide.”

“Shota may go to the slide for five more times. Then we go back to Haru, and then we go back ho… to momma,” Nino said, catching himself just in time. 

If he had told Shota, they would go home and taking him to his grandparents' place. There would be problems. He made sure to keep Shota’s attention and showing him what he meant. 

Shota stared at him for a second, before mumbling something about five times and walked off to the slide. Nino watched him play for a few more minutes before Shota stood after his fifth turn and walked over to Haru. 

“Good job, goodbye,” Shota said, smiling and Nino nodded with a chuckle. 

“Good job. Now hand or lead?”

This time Shota took Nino’s hand in his own and Nino felt warmth pooling in the pit of his stomach as each time when Shota took his hand if he had a choice. They made their way back slowly with Haru sniffling here and there and Shota walking beside Nino, looking around whenever they needed to stop because of Haru.

“Haru sniffle, we wait. Haru finished, we walk,” he sang. 

“You are right.”

“No yanking the lead. Yanking hurts,” Shota continued with his song, and Nino grinned. 

He had made up too many songs for Shota when he had been younger because it seemed like things got stuck easier in his mind if there was a song involved. 

They made their way slowly through the park to the exit when Shota suddenly exclaimed and yanked his arm free from Nino. Nino swore as his nephew was fast when something caught his eyes. “Haru!” he called, pulling slightly at the lead to get Haru’s attention and then followed Shota with quick steps. 

Luckily Shota squatted down just around the corner his eyes focusing on a canvas. “Haru!” he yelled when Nino came to a stand beside him. 

“You can’t run away,” Nino scolded with a stern face, sighing when Shota stared at him for a second before he lowered his eyes and nodded. 

“Sorry.”

Nino nodded and patted his head. “Good boy,” he said and smiled when Haru pushed his snout against Shota’s cheek until the boy shrieked. Shota rocked himself, his eyes back on the picture.

“Haru, ants!” Shota repeated touching the canvas and leaving a smudge of dirt. Nino paled slightly and held his wrist to stop him. 

“I’m sorry. Shota loves Haru and watching ants,” Nino apologised to the man that was staring at them dumbfounded. Nino blushed slightly at that and bowed deeply. “I hope he hasn’t destroyed it.”

“Ah, it’s just for fun,” the other said, and Nino found a strange shiver running over his back at the soft, warm voice. 

Shota yanked at Nino’s hand to have him let go and moved a bit faster as he grumbled. 

“Sorry, Shota. We have to go to momma, remember?”

“Please give.”

“Shota it’s not ours,” Nino said, rubbing his face. 

“Please give.”

“No.”

Shota’s face scrunched up, and Nino sighed. He had not even any idea what to distract Shota with right now.

“You can play with your doll at momma’s home,” he said and stood. “Come on. We go home.”

Shota had tears in his eyes, but Nino tried hard to stay strict as he motioned him that he couldn’t just take the picture.

“Uhm…” the voice added itself to them and Nino blinked as he blushed. 

“Ah sorry, Shota has difficulty to understand that he can’t get everything,” Nino mumbled. 

“Please give,” Shota said again, now looking between his uncle and the stranger who stared at them in confusion. 

“If you just tell him no like that he’ll understand.”

“But actually… I have no use for it, if he likes it he can have it,” the man said with a warm smile. “At home, it would just lie around until my roommate makes me give it away, or it breaks.

Nino blinked and stared back at the hopeful look on Shota’s face as he stared at the stranger and back to the picture. The dog looked a lot like Haru (which was mostly down to it being a Shiba Inu, duh) and it was cute how the dog sniffled at a line of ants carrying leaves. You could see a yellow lead going from the blue-collar of the dog and just the tips of some fingers on one corner, but that was it. 

The man smiled and squatted in front of Shota who cried out in surprise and swayed slightly, but still held out his hands as he had been taught.

“Please give.”

“Of course, here you go, Shota, take good care of it,” the man said, still with a smile on his face as he handed the canvas over. There was something about that smile that Nino thought was familiar, but it was probably that he had seen the man in the park before. Shota took the canvas and held it tightly. 

“Good boy, thank you!”

“Yeah, good job. Now let’s go to momma. Give me the canvas so you can hold to the lead, Shota,” Nino reminded the boy who handed over the canvas when Nino motioned him and took the leash in one hand. “Say bye-bye.”

“Good job. Goodbye.”

“Thank you, goodbye,” Nino said before hurrying to follow Shota who was already leaving and therefore slightly pulling at the leash for Haru to move. 

It was late when he was finally at home in the evening, he laid in bed and turned to his side, thinking about how he should go to the park again the next day to explain to the man what had happened fully and thank him again for the picture. 

He probably should also pay him something for his kindness, because he was sure the painting had to be a lot of work to give it away like that. 

Nino buried his head in the cushions and yelled slightly when his mind swam with pictures of the gentle eyes and warm voice of the stranger and the beautiful fingers, great body and delighted moans from Jun’s flatmate.


	4. Chapter 4

“Please don’t panic when you pour in the cold cream. The caramelised sugar will harden, and it will look as if you failed to do your caramel sauce, but you didn’t. You need to put the pot back on the stove on low heat and continue to stir the mix. As you can see the sugar slowly softens and incorporates again. So yay, you did it! Now the last step, we are almost there…”

“You’re watching him again, huh?” Aiba said behind Nino and Nino flinched and cried out in surprise while he closed his laptop at the same time. 

He knew he was beet red when he looked up and glared at the other. “Can’t you knock?” he grumbled and tried to calm down his racing heart. He didn’t even know why he felt like that. So what? He watched a video from Jun again. They were very informative he after all, and his sister had already told him that he would be in charge of the Christmas cakes. His nephew had talked about his cake for a few days and in all honesty: he was thinking if he talked Aiba into allowing him to invite Shota and bake something with the boy. He believed that Shota would enjoy it.

Shota liked cooking and baking if the steps were not too many or too many things at the same time. He just needed a pictured recipe as well as short written out instructions. He would have problems with the pictures - since he was terrible at drawing - but he could describe well, and Shota seemed to understand his directions. 

“Sorry, sorry, didn’t know you were doing something secretive. I knocked a few times and called you.”

“What do you want?”

“Dinner is ready. Why do you want to watch Jun-kun a bit longer? He is pretty, right?”

“I’m just interested in his baking tips,” Nino said. “What else? I need to bake for Christmas, so I should keep up with my work.”

“Sure, sure.”

Nino was still glaring, but Aiba was giggling as he led him out of the room. Nino looked back at the laptop and sighed. Maybe this was a sign that he really needed to stop watching these things. He had seen Jun’s flatmate half-naked two more times - sadly he usually was clothed and Nino really loved the soft sweaters he wore. He would love to caress them with his fingers, but that was not possible.

He was a bit down as he entered the kitchen, not realising that Aiba was watching him curiously.

“Do you have any ideas for Christmas? Do you want to practise again? I will be gladly the taste tester. Together with Sho-chan. He had been offended that he didn’t get to try the cakes you made.”

“Sho likes everything.”

“True, but he would give you his honest opinion.”

Nino smiled wryly and nodded. “Thank you. And probably a normal strawberry shortcake or a cheesecake?”

“Cheesecake sounds good,” Aiba said and ruffled his hair. “I think Jun has some good recipes.” Nino nodded, he had watched those already, and his crush (because let’s face it, he had a strong interest in the stranger and it was not healthy at all, but it was hard to lie to himself) had seemed to love he cheesecakes.

Aiba grinned and served the mapo tofu to Nino who hummed his thanks and started eating.

“I have a question.”

“Shoot.”

“Can I invite Shota over? We could bake cookies and nee-san, and her husband could go on a date or something like that. I know she is hesitant to let him go to mum’s place because she is sometimes overwhelmed when he throws a tantrum, and because of Haru,” he sighed. It was nice that Shota could be distracted with Haru easily, but it was sometimes hard on Haru since the dog was old and not equipped as a playmate for hours. 

“Sure. He’s a good kid.”

“He is,” Nino agreed with a smile. Even if it was hard sometimes, he loved his little nephew. 

—

Nino was frowning as he stepped into the living room and came face to face with a grinning Aiba. Aiba was rocking on the seat in a way that almost reminded him of Shota, but the glee coming off of Aiba in waves was the complete opposite of his nephew. Sho was sitting beside Aiba, smiling amusedly and for a second Nino wished he hadn’t come home. 

“Hi, I’m in my room,” he said and turned to the door where his room was behind. He groaned when Aiba jumped to his feet and ran after him, yanking at his arm to stop him and almost pulling his shoulder. 

“Wait! We have a surprise for you.”

“A surprise? For me?” Nino asked with a sigh as he looked from one to the other. If it was from both of them, he could usually trust Sho to stop Aiba thinking of something stupid or dangerous, but sometimes Aiba’s stupidity was infectious, and Sho was helpless against it. “What did you both do?”

“Sho-chan knows Jun-kun!” Aiba declared, and Nino paled slightly. He feared what Aiba might have told Sho since nothing would be even close to the truth. 

“He was a junior in school. I tutored him in Maths and English,” Sho explained with a fond smile at the memory. “He was a cute kid. And we kept in touch.”

“He had a crush on Sho,” Aiba explained in a stage whisper, and Nino rolled his eyes. 

“And?”

“And?! I told Sho you watch his videos religiously and that you like him!”

“Masaki,” Nino hissed blushing under the gaze of the two of them. 

“What? I have no secrets in front of Sho-chan! And you know I worry about your love life. Non-existent love-life at that,” Aiba said with a frown. 

“What do you even care?”

“I care because you are my friend,” Aiba said with a pout and Nino sighed. 

“Okay, so what is your surprise,” he said, defeated and allowed Aiba to lead him to the comfy chair at the side of the table. Aiba grinned and presented him with an envelope. Nino glared at it for a second before he finally opened it. 

“A meet-and-greet?” he asked in shock as he read the card.

“Yes! Isn’t that exciting?”

“I don’t understand,” Nino said, looking at Sho who finally pulled Aiba to sit down beside him and calm down again. 

“Jun-kun was asked a few times if he would be comfortable to do baking lessons since his channel blew up so much. He wants to try it because he loves to teach. That’s why he started the channel, to begin with. But he has never done so. He wants to practise and asked me if I was interested. He said if he manages to teach me, he would be fine,” Sho said with a grimace and Nino chuckled. Sho was a klutz in the kitchen after all, so it even made sense. 

“Yeah, he has to be a magician to do so,” he teased him, and Sho furrowed his brows. “But what does that mean for me?”

“I asked him if he would be comfortable if I bring Masaki since one-on-one is not the same as in front of a group. And he agreed. Masaki told me you are interested in him, and I asked if I could bring another person that just started baking because of his channel. He was a bit shy but then agreed. He said it could be good to deal with fans beforehand.”

“I won’t tackle him,” Nino said with a pout. Besides, he was no fan of Jun. Not really at least. He was interested in his flatmate!

“Still, it’s great right?” Aiba asked with a grin, and Nino sighed before he nodded. 

“Sure, whatever. I’ll head to bed now,” he mumbled and stood to leave. “Thank you, though.”

He entered his room and closed the door, leaning against it as he listened to Aiba and Sho wondering why he was not as excited as they had hoped. Somehow he felt let down, even if it was foolish.

It didn’t help that he had not met that artist again to thank him once more for the picture, maybe even invite him for a cup of coffee since the gentle face often visited him in his dreams—either that or the gorgeous hands and that adorable smile.

—

Nino stared at the apartment complex he agreed to meet with Aiba and Sho for a moment. He didn’t know if he should be happy or disappointed that they would not meet in the private home of Jun. It made sense, he supposed since he was pretty sure Jun had only one oven and not a giant kitchen that would fit four persons comfortably. 

But meeting at his home would have meant that he maybe might get the possibility to meet the other person entirely. But the thought also was terrifying. Nino sighed and pulled at his fringe. After today he would give up, he swore to himself. No more videos trying to get glimpses of the other man. 

“Sorry did you wait long?” Sho asked, and he turned around.

“No, I just arrived.”

Sho nodded, clearly relieved and glared at a grinning Aiba who came up from behind them at a slower pace. 

“I suppose Aiba has kept you occupied?”

“I turned off his alarms,” Aiba said with an evil grin. “We were having fun.”

“I don’t want to know,” Nino said with a grimace.

“We were in my room.”

“I hope so,” Nino scoffed, and Sho rolled his eyes. 

“Now, children, behave. I’ll call Jun, and he said he would fetch us and bring us to the right studio.”

Nino nodded and sighed. “Joy…” Nino started as the door opened and he suddenly faced to face with the sleepy-looking artist he had met in the park and as the other smiled brightly when he recognised Sho his heart beat faster unexpectedly.

“Ah, Sho-kun! MatsuJun said I should go and get you before I eat the ingredients. He doesn’t trust me at all!”

“I’m surprised you are here, no dance practise?”

“I told MatsuJun I want to learn as well. He said I only want to taste test,” he answered with a pout. Sho chuckled and nodded in understanding. Ohno flinched then and opened the door wider for them.

Nino stood still for a second longer until he felt Aiba’s arm around his shoulder, which pushed him inside. “Already nervous?” he teased, and Nino elbowed him, even if he couldn’t deny it. He was nervous, if not for the reason Aiba thought he was.

His eyes strayed to the still nameless (damn!) man as he tried to remember how to breathe. This couldn’t be happening, especially now that he swore to himself to give up his hopes to meet him. 

“There you are, welcome,” Jun said suddenly as they entered the studio. Nino looked around curiously. “I’m Matsumoto Jun.”

Aiba bopped his head with a grin. “Aiba Masaki and this is Ninomiya Kazunari. He is a bit shy,” he explained. Nino rolled his eyes and elbowed him. 

“Shut up.”

“Ah, Sakurai-senpai said you are a fan. Thank you for supporting me and watching my videos,” he said and bopped his head. 

Nino smiled in embarrassment, his eyes again straying to the stranger, who was back at looking sleepy and as if he was not there anymore. 

“Nice to meet you,” he said then. 

Jun smiled at him, and Nino felt himself blushing. He hoped that neither Aiba nor Sho had told the other man their false assumptions about his crush on the other man. 

“Ah! Ohno Satoshi, nice to meet you, I live with MatsuJun and want to learn to take over his channel,” he grinned.

Jun rolled his eyes and hit his head before pushing him over. “Go over there to the others, you idiot.”

Nino giggled as Ohno (finally a name!) pouted but stood close to him, staring at him for a moment. 

“I know you!” he exclaimed and Nino looked down shyly before bowing low.

“Thank you for the other day. You made Shota’s day with your painting. He has it over his bed.”

“I’m glad,” he said, and Nino tried hard to calm down and not blurt out all of his thoughts about the hidden mark, and their bond. He didn’t want to be that creepy if possible.

“If I could get your attention,” Jun said dryly.

“Yes, MatsuJun!” Ohno shouted and saluted. 

Nino’s eyes strayed to Ohno again as he hid his lips behind his elbow. 

“Good,” Jun said with a heavy sigh. “I thought it would be great if you could do it in pairs. Baking is more fun if you do things together, and I was told that it would interest more people if I offered such days for pairs since it would make a good present and time spend…” Jun started, and Nino’s eyes wandered to Ohno for a second before they went to Aiba. Aiba was the safe option, but before he could say anything Aiba already had his arms around Sho.

“That’s a great idea! I will bake with Sho-chan, of course. We can treat it as a real date!”

Traitor, Nino thought sullenly, flinching when Ohno put his arm around his hip. It felt as if his hand was burning a hole in the skin of his hip where his mark was still hidden, and he wondered if Ohno could feel it. 

“We will win!” Ohno declared with a funny face, making Nino laugh again. 

“This is not a competition, Satoshi,” Jun scolded, and Ohno scrunched up his face cutely. God, he was so lost, Nino thought when Jun handed out aprons for them and started in earnest.


	5. Chapter 5

Nino stared blankly at the recipe in front of him and tried to understand anything of it, but it seemed as if he had forgotten how to read. Why should he read anyway, he thought dryly. Wasn’t Matsumoto supposed to teach them? He lifted his eyes and stared at the instructor with a lost impression on his face. He was overwhelmed with Ohno so close and scared. 

How should he bake something the other might like? God, what if Ohno didn’t like what he made and then he had no chance with him for sure. He was convinced that for Ohno, it would be essential to be with someone who knew how to cook or bake. 

Nino never had any interest in food, as long as it ended his hunger, honestly. Nothing else mattered for him. Of course, it was good if the food tasted well, but he was not that picky. Okay so he was, but to be fair, he lived with someone who was the son of chefs and was taught how to cook since he was little and he was the son of two chefs. 

He was used to excellent food, and he had learnt from being small to eat whatever was put on the table without complaints. Because his father was not a person to joke around when you were picky with your food and either you ate it, or you went to be hungry and got a good scolding. 

Of course, that lessened when his mother divorced his father, but the sentiment had been already engraved in his mind.

There was a warm hand on the small of his back suddenly, and Nino flinched when another body was so very close to his that the fine hairs on his neck stood up. “Ninomiya-san?”

God, how could a voice be so husky and like molten chocolate at the same time?! He was going crazy, and it was a bad idea to have agreed to this all. 

“Uhm, yes?” Nino asked after clearing his throat, hoping fervently that Ohno wouldn’t realise how nervous he was, but the chuckle coming from the other man made clear how much he failed that. 

“The flour,” Ohno said, and when Nino looked up in confusion, the look on his face was kind even if amused and Nino felt his heart beat faster for a second as he stared at the small bowls in front of him. Flour right, he thought as he grabbed the right bowl, and Ohno grinned as he took it and poured it in another bowl to measure it, while jokingly complaining to Jun that he could have pre-measured it. 

Concentrate, Ninomiya! Nino was mad at himself as he looked up at the unimpressed Jun, cheeks a flaring red. 

“While one of you mix in the butter with the flour the other should chop the walnuts and toast them until slightly brown,” Jun’s voice reached his ear. He grimaced at the thought of getting his hands dirty, but Ohno was already putting his hands into the bowl he had put the flour and the butter in and Nino felt a wave of thankfulness over him as he took the walnuts and chopped them carefully as not to hurt himself. 

He was pretty proud of himself when he poured the toasted walnuts into the dough Ohno had prepared so far and even managed not to burn too many of them (there were a few darker ones, but Ohno didn’t comment so Nino pretended they weren’t there). 

Ohno licked his fingers, when he was done, frowning at the taste of floury butter and Nino giggled at the cute wrinkled nose as he pressed the finished dough into the form Jun had provided them and put it into the oven. For now, he thought, they had done pretty well. At least it was in the oven, and they were already ready while Sho hovered over Aiba’s shoulder staring at his hands as Aiba smoothed out the dough in the form he had prepared.

“I will protect the cake from getting burnt,” Ohno declared suddenly, and Nino blinked. 

“Huh?” 

“You want this to go well, right?” Ohno asked, and Nino nodded slowly. “Then I shall make sure it won’t burn.”

Ohno fell to the floor, crossing his legs and arms in front of him as he stared, almost glared, into the oven with a solemn expression making Nino giggle. 

“I put on the timer.”

“Yeah, but MatsuJun always says how different each oven is. What if this works faster?”

Nino smiled fondly, could not, at those words and decided it was charming. 

— 

“You got it bad, huh?” Aiba asked as he came over while Sho talked to Jun, and Ohno was sitting on the floor watching the cake that was in the oven. Nino found the antics very cute, and a tiny smile was on his face as he remembered Ohno declaring that he will make sure the cake won’t burn as he sat down on the floor and concentrated on the glass. 

“What?” Nino asked, forcing his eyes back on Aiba’s face and even turned halfway so that Ohno was not in his line of view anymore. 

“It’s the first time I saw you as a spluttering mess. It’s cute. But I don’t think you would be able to impress Matsumoto-san that way,” he scolded, and Nino bit his lips before he could blurt out that he was happy for that fact. Aiba only meant well, he reminded himself as he took a calming breath. And he was glad that Aiba was not trying to shove him into Ohno right now. That would be disastrous.

“I’m not doing that on purpose,” he grumbled, his cheeks still warm, and he wondered if they would ever get their normal colour back.

Aiba observed him with furrowed brows before a bright smile appeared on his face, and he ruffled his hair. “On the other hand, seeing you, this adorable will probably sway him more than your bratty attitude. Keep it up, maybe you can ask him to show you something more closely,” Aiba said with twinkling eyes and Nino blanched, very glad that there was nothing in baking that needed close bodily contact, while at the same time thinking of how often Ohno had touched him until now. He was sure he still felt the traces of his fingers on several body parts. 

He felt hot all over again and decided to leave Aiba and go over to Ohno. He squatted down beside him and hugged his knees to balance. 

“How is it looking captain?”

“Captain?” Ohno asked in amusement and Nino shrugged.

“So far you took the lead,” he said, praying hard that he was not blushing again. He was going to faint soon, he was sure of it. 

“It still looks good. Not golden brown yet, though,” he said and sounded a bit sad. 

“What colour even is golden brown?”

Ohno looked at him seriously at those words, and Nino felt his heart swoon at the look. 

“I would say the shade of your eyes fit it pretty well,” he said then, and Nino knew he was blushing hard if Ohno’s grin told anything. He groaned and hid his face behind his knees elbowing Ohno when the other laughed. Ohno fell to the side but was only laughing louder, and Nino felt like smothering him for it, but at the same time wanted to hug the heck out of him. 

—

Nino watched Ohno as he fanned the cake to help it cool down faster. Jun had apologised for so many empty time they had but wrote down on his note pad that he should either make more difficult toppings and fillings or try out at home if they can fill the cakes sooner if they were cooled in a fridge or freezer. He hadn’t done that so far and wanted to test first if the outcome was the same. 

Nino didn’t much care. He was sure that he would not do another baking class with Jun, because he was sure that both of these men wouldn’t want to know him anymore after they found out that he was interested in Ohno and watched all videos to creepily find more topless shots of the other man. 

He sighed a bit sad at the thought, because on the other hand, if Jun still was okay with him and Ohno would even date him (dream big or go home had always been Nino’s motto after all), it would be fun to do more classes with the older man. 

“You are young to be Shota’s father,” Ohno said suddenly with a frown on his face, and Nino stared at him lost for a moment, until his mind got back to properly working. He giggled and shook his head. 

“Shota is not my son. He is my little nephew. I take care of him sometimes, since he likes me. I’m allowed to hug him sometimes,” he said proudly, because well, he was proud that Shota trusted him enough to come over to him and hug him. 

Ohno hummed and nodded as he stared back at the cake with a small, thoughtful expression. Nino didn’t want their conversation end so quickly again, because damn, he was better than that. But he couldn’t think of any question that was not about the damn soul mark or the fact that he had very wrong thoughts about his naked body. He shook his head to get rid of the pictures and grasped for the first thing that came to mind.

“Are you an artist?” Nino found himself asking suddenly, and Ohno looked up with a confused expression on his face. 

“Huh?”

“The painting Shota got from you. You painted it right?”

“Ah, yes.”

“So are you an artist?”

“Mh, I do it in my free time. I like painting what I see in the park.”

“The picture was good. It looked like Haru.”

“Haru?”

“The dog that was with Shota and me. It’s mine, but he lives with my mother for now.”

Ohno nodded in understanding and then shrugged. “I think I saw Haru a few times. He’s a cute dog.”

“He is the best,” Nino said with a giggle. 

Ohno hummed and glanced at him from where his eyes were focused on the cake in front of him. “Seems to be true that dogs and owners are alike then,” he said, and Nino swore if he blushed any harder, he would faint. 

“Stupid,” Nino grumbled, but then smiled at the compliment. He turned around when Jun called their attention back, having decided that the cake should have cooled down now. 

Since Ohno was still mostly occupied with checking the cake, Nino started to mix cream cheese with sugar until it was smooth and then put in their whipped cream he had made earlier while Ohno had cooled down the cake. 

It was easy to put it on the cake, that had cooled down, and Nino sighed in relief. Maybe this was not going to be a disaster even if he still was sure that he couldn’t see Ohno again afterwards, and that thought hurt. 

It hurt in general, Nino had always thought if he was so close to someone sharing the same mark as there would be sparks or some recognition in their eyes. Something that showed that they were right. 

But there seemed to be nothing of the sorts in Ohno, he thought sullenly, as a shiver ran down his spine again as Ohno put his hands on his hips to move him to the side careful as to not spook or hurt him as he walked behind him to reach the ingredients again. 

For Nino, each touch of Ohno seemed to feel like fire in his veins, and the touches seem to linger for too long since Nino still felt every contact he had felt so far. His heart beat faster when Ohno smiled at him, he always felt his eyes on him, and it was hard to think of anything else but Ohno. But Nino feared it was all just because he knew the truth. He almost jumped when Ohno’s fingertips seemed to trace the mark hidden on his hip, but Ohno still looked aloof as he measured the weight for the pudding powder. 

“Do you like chocolate?” Ohno asked, and Nino shrugged. He wished he could lie because he knew that Ohno loved chocolate, but he couldn’t.

“I don’t like it that much. It’s so sweet,” he said, and Ohno’s whole face scrunched up before he looked at him in shock. 

He giggled and hid his face behind his elbow. It was so easy to read Ohno, almost as if they knew each other their whole life already and Nino liked the feeling. He knew he was going to miss it. He just wished today would never end, but their cakes were almost finished.

“You don’t like chocolate?! How? It’s the best,” Ohno shouted and appalled, getting a snort from Jun at their antics. “MatsuJun! You need to make your special chocolate cake for Ninomiya-san! He will change his mind.”

“Chocolate is too sweet,” Nino mumbled shyly, and Ohno shook his head. 

“No way. But oh… You can try bittersweet chocolate? The pudding is not too sweet, right, MatsuJun?”

“Yeah, there is no sugar in the pudding powder. With the cream and all, it would have been too much.”

“That’s good then,” Ohno hummed with a grin when Nino nodded in agreement that he would be able to eat it.

Ohno cheered in joy, doing a little dance in happiness when he stumbled over the baking pan on the floor, and Nino cried out in shock when cold milk was poured over him very suddenly. 

— 

“I’m so sorry,” Ohno said, and somehow Nino could tell it was not the truth. Ohno’s hands were too fast over his shirt for it to be a real accident. Ohno was pulling his shirt off in a smooth motion, a towel in his other hand. 

Nino stared wide-eyed at the other, too winded at the smooth handling of Ohno. Ohno was patting down his chest, and Nino flinched again, feeling hot all over when he stared at Ohno’s back of his head. He could see that Ohno’s ears were read and he felt like something was set on fire, when Ohno’s fingers wandered over his mark, while Ohno was staring at his chest. 

Nino hissed and took hold of Ohno’s wrist to stop him from wandering further down, stopping Ohno’s action that way and couldn’t help the warmth in his cheeks when Ohno met his eyes sheepishly. Ohno opened his mouth to say something when Nino clicked his tongue, suddenly remembering all the other people in the room (luckily only their friends, but he still was embarrassed). 

He tightened his grip, feeling Ohno relax just a fraction and then marched them down of the room. He felt like breathing was more comfortable when the door fell close behind them, and he only could hear the surprised shouts from the rest very dimly behind the thick door. He looked around and dragged Ohno to another door, which luckily opened to an empty room, and he marched them in 

Ohno trailed behind him, his head down but Nino saw that he was staring at their intertwined hands (how did that happen even?!) and he was not looking sorry or anything like that. 

“How?” Nino asked after they stared at each other for a while mutely. 

Ohno rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly and smiled. “I could tell you were not interested in MatsuJun,” he explained, and Nino hid his face behind his hands, trying to squirm away from Ohno’s grip when the other made a small noise in the back of his throat. 

Ohno stopped his wriggling with a careful, but firm hold of his hips and Nino stiffened when Ohno squatted in front of him and traced the mark decorating Nino’s hip since birth. 

“I knew it,” he chuckled. “You felt like home since I saw you in the park.”

“Huh?”

“I lied,” Ohno said, and Nino blinked, his mouth falling open. “I didn’t see Haru in the park. Or I did, but not alone. I knew you go to the park almost every weekend with the dog. I hoped you would recognise the picture. I’m glad Shota did.”

Nino felt himself blushing, but he had long given up to hide it. If he fainted, then it would happen. At least he could escape this situation then. 

“I lied too,” Nino pressed out, and Ohno hummed as he pulled down the trousers slightly to trace the rest of the mark and Nino pushed his hands away before Ohno could pull it down even further. 

“I saw you on the first video Masaki showed me. You were naked, and I saw the mark.”

“Oh, did you lust over me?”

Nino didn’t dare to answer that, but he knew the small groan leaving his mouth, and the redness of his face was answer enough for Ohno. 

“But you know? I’m a bit mad?”

“Huh?” Nino asked, happy when Ohno let go and even pulled off his two shirts offering Nino one before buttoning up the other when he saw the goosebumps on his arms. 

“You could have followed my Youtube channel,” Ohno explained. “I will film even more naked content if you do,” he added with a giggle when Nino shoved him away. 

Ohno got serious again soon after and Nino felt honestly a bit winded at the change of sudden moods. Ohno held his hands and Nino couldn’t help but smile at the feeling of his hands in Ohno’s hands. It felt just like coming home. It was so strange, but his heart was singing in happiness. 

“Will you date me, Ninomiya-san?” Ohno asked, and Nino grimaced.

“No,” he said plainly, and his lips twitched when Ohno’s face fell. “Only if you stop calling me Ninomiya-san. Nino is fine.”

Ohno’s face brightened up at the words, and he grinned. “Nino, will you date me?” he rephrased, and Nino giggled. He couldn’t help himself because he felt so giddy. 

“Of course.”

— The End — 

A/N: I hope you liked it. Sorry for the end before they actually date, but it was never meant to be a story with them dating. Sorry.


End file.
